Design with the past through organizational exaptation in rural Hong Kong

Abstract

Overcoming eco-social disconnects between urban and rural areas is a critical design challenge. This article explores organizational exaptation as a strategy to regenerate opportunities in rural regions with scarce organizational capacities. Exaptation as social reinvention involves repurposing local resources for new uses. Examining a pilot in rural Hong Kong, a social enterprise for reengaging untapped local legacies, we demonstrate how exaptation can create eco-social opportunities in previously lagging areas. Through the collective efforts of locals, entrepreneurs, and designers, exaptation reveals new affordances using what is locally available. Thus, we see that designing with the past requires strategies like collaborative encounters, material prototyping, adaptive social formats, and inspiration transfer. Overall, exaptation as a catalyst for social innovation is not predicated on historical determinism but on reenacting existing resources.